1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of strategic planning and, in particular, to a system and method for generating a multi-layered strategy description and integrated implementation requirements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Strategy management is critical to the success of many organizations such as businesses, charities, government agencies and schools. Through a strategic planning process, the leaders of an organization attempt to clarify the organization's long-term goals and develop a plan for accomplishing those goals. A successful strategy anticipates future threats to the organization and positions the organization to take advantage of new opportunities that may arise.
The strategic planning process is time consuming, expensive and requires a complex analysis of the organization and its environment. As a result, the typical strategic planning process is implemented only once per year and only addresses a small subset of the issues that face the organization. A conventional strategic planning process for a business is illustrated in the diagram of FIG. 1. A strategic planning committee is created from the business' senior management, and the members of the strategic planning committee conduct an audit of the business and its environment (i.e., an environmental scan) to determine the business' strengths and weaknesses (Step 2). A typical audit involves intensive data gathering from sources throughout the business organization, as well as sources external to the business. Next, the planning committee defines the organization's mission, vision and guiding principles (Step 4). A mission statement describes the present nature of the business, including the business' purpose and direction (i.e., the goals the business is trying to accomplish). A vision statement describes the desired future of the business, and guiding principles outline the values and philosophy of the business that guide the behavior of its personnel.
The planning committee compares the current state of the business, as determined by the environmental scan and the mission statement, to the business' desired future as identified in the vision statement and guiding principles. Based on this comparison, the planning committee identifies long-term goals, which define the changes the business should implement in order to achieve its stated vision (Step 6). The planning committee selects a manageable number of long-terms goals (e.g., 10) that are reasonable for the business to achieve and defines strategies for achieving these selected goals. The environmental scan, mission, vision, guiding principles and long-term goals and strategies are compiled into a formal strategic plan, which is used by managers throughout the organization to create operating plans directed towards accomplishing the organization's goals (Step 8). Managers and employees then implement the operating plans (Step 10). After creating the formal strategic plan, the planning committee disbands until the following year when a new strategic planning process will start.
A common obstacle to an organization's successful implementation of a strategic plan is the inability of the organization's managers to create operating plans that efficiently advance the organization's strategic direction. The planning committee's role involves articulating the organization's vision, objectives and strategies in the strategic planning document. However, this high-level document seldom includes the details necessary to guide managers through implementation decisions such as the prioritization of resources, the determination of implementation requirements and setting time frames. The success of strategy implementation is further compromised when the strategic direction is insufficiently described in the strategic planning document, the managers misinterpret the strategic planning document, the managers lack the resources that are necessary to implement the strategic plan or the assumptions underlying the strategic plan change.